Your Right to Know

CHICAGO — Illinois’ days as the only state to forbid public possession of a firearm could
be numbered after a federal appellate court threw out a state ban and gave lawmakers six months to
figure out a way to let people legally carry around guns.

The 2-1 ruling by a 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Chicago yesterday affirmed a
constitutional right to have ready-to-use guns for self-defense outside the home.

Illinois became the last state to prohibit carrying concealed weapons when Wisconsin lifted its
ban last year.